‘They are going to do fantastic’
Exploits Extreme cheerleaders ready to compete in Niagara Falls
Getting a sports team to a national championship requires hard work, dedication and support, not just from athletes, but coaches, parents, guardians, families, friends, and communities.
Exploits Extreme Cheerleading has experienced this first-hand during the past several months as they prepare for their second trip to the Cheer Evolution National Championships in April.
Coaches Megan Reeves, Jessica Kenny and Shauna
Guy will take 18 athletes on Exploits Extreme Smokeshow to Niagara Falls to compete against teams from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador on April 15 and 16, a mere two weeks after they compete at the provincial championships in St. John’s on April 1. It’s been a long time coming.
“We always do our tryouts in the summer and then they will start training September with the team,” Guy says.
“This is our most advanced team so the stunting is more advanced, we look at their tumbling skills, but most importantly, we look at their work ethic and their attitude, that’s what plays the biggest role.”
The team showcased at the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor Civic Awards last fall then started on the routine.
“They train twice a week completely getting them ready for competing,” Guy says, adding first they must learn the skill sets so Reeves can choreograph them into the routine.
They have extra hours of practice as it gets closer to competition.
“It’s 100 per cent a whole team thing … A stunt doesn’t go up without all its members.”
Guy says the girls are dedicated to the sport and each other.
“They are going to do fantastic.”
Their dedication is one piece of the puzzle. The Newfoundland and Labrador Cheerleading Association, as well as Coast Wave Elite in St. John’s, have been fabulous supports. Kenny has been doing tumbling training and Reeves does choreography, including the mix.
“Everything that you see on the floor (Meg) comes up with it and I think that huge,” Guy says, adding most clubs hire people to do that task. “It takes a special person to be able to do that.
We are always known for our routines and how they are different.”
Parents play a huge role with heading the financial aspect of getting the team there. April Bowne-Stone is one of the many parents and guardians who has been helping with fundraising. Her daughter, Kallie Stone, is a Grade 10 student at Exploits Valley High and has been in cheer for several years, three of the last four competitively.
Bowne-Stone says this season has been an adventure. They took an organized association approach this year and got a parent fundraising committee and a bank account.
They’ve done individual and team fundraisers including prize draws, games, a haunted trail, trivia night and the Bivver, to name a few.
“The cost of going wouldn’t have been even conceivable without the unbelievable support of friends, family and the general public,” Bowne-Stone says.
“The amount of training and hard work that each one of those girls commit to all season long and to show up. Some of them have work, high school and exams and transitioning from junior high to high school, but they are thoroughly committed … it’s nice to see the town, the
public and everybody getting behind them.”
Bowne-Stone says the parents have shown a lot of dedication as well.
“I think, at the end of the day, parents just like seeing their kids be involved and be happy in the things they are involved in,” Bowne-Stone says.
Seventeen-year-old Madison Thompson of Bishop’s Falls loves the sport. She is in her sixth year of competitive cheerleading.
“We spend a lot of time at practice working on our skills, even in the beginning of the season before we get to put it all together into a routine,” the Smokeshow team member says.
Heading into competition she says their practices are four and a half hours a week.
“Outside we take it upon ourselves to work hard as athletes and train at home,” Thompson says.
Her favourite part of routines is dancing, however, the overall experience is amazing.
“It’s a sport that I really have grown to love and it’s such a great team-bonding experience,” Thompson says. “Just being able to work so hard at something to be rewarded is really a lot of fun.”
Being a graduating athlete, nationals will be her final competition with the team.
“It’s bittersweet because it’s been a good run. We’ve had a lot of fun over the years.”